Illinois Entertainer October 2017 | Page 14

The Mountain Between Us BLADE RUNNER RETURNS By Lori Vernon Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford in Blade Runner 2049 Directed by Hany Abu-Assad Rated: PG-13 October 6 After a tragic private plane crash in the Colorado wilderness strands two strangers (Kate Winslet and Idris Elba) on a snowy mountaintop, they must forge a partnership in order to survive the extreme elements and other dangers. Realizing help is not coming, they embark on a terrifying journey across hundreds of miles of frozen wilderness, pushing each other to endure and igniting an unexpected attraction. Based on the 2010 novel of the same name by Charles Martin, the film also stars Dermot Mulroney, Waleed Zuaiter and Beau Bridges. The Florida Project O ctober always brings its fair share of scary movies to cinemas and this year is no different with lots of fright- fests sure to put a little fear into your Halloween. However, some of the year’s highest quality films are released in October and this month we have some top-notch dra- mas, great thrillers and a sci-fi sequel we’ve been waiting decades for! Here are a few rea- sons to visit your local theater this month. Blade Runner 2049 Directed by Denis Villeneuve Rated: R October 6 Thirty-five years after the original neo- noir sci-fi classic starred Harrison Ford as a detective hunting rogue androids in a bleak future world, we meet Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a new blade runner for the LAPD. After unearthing a long-buried secret that has the potential to end what’s left of humanity, Officer K’s discovery sends him on a quest to find Rick Deckard (Ford, reprising his role), a former blade runner who disappeared 30 years ago. Original director Ridley Scott is producing this time, with Arrival’s Denis Villeneuve directing and Roger Deakin (Skyfall, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption) handling cinematography. Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Robin Wright, Lennie James, and Carla Juri round out the cast. 14 illinoisentertainer.com october 2017 Directed by Sean Baker Rated: R October 6 Sean Baker’s follow-up to his acclaimed Tangerine is a subtle yet vibrant film about poverty and those living on the dysfunction- al fringes of society. Halley (Bria Vinaite), a young, struggling single mother and her pre- cocious six-year-old daughter, Moonee (Brooklyn Prince), live in the shadow of Disney World in a flophouse motel called The Magic Castle. Surrounded by a rag-tag group of friends, Moonee’s summer is filled with childhood wonder, possibility and a sense of adventure, while the adults around her strug- gle with hard times and the reality of life unfulfilled. Willem Dafoe, Caleb Landry Jones, Christopher Rivera and Valeria Cotto have supporting roles. Marshall Directed by Reginald Hudlin Rated: PG-13 October 13th This courtroom drama tells the story of young civil-rights attorney Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman), the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his first career- defining cases defending a terrified black chauffeur, Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), who stands accused of rape and attempted murder by his white employer (Kate Hudson). Also starring Josh Gad, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell and Keesha Sharp. The Meyerowitz Stories Directed by Noah Baumbach Rated: Not Rated as press time October 13 The Meyerowitz Stories is a comedy/drama that tells the tale of the estranged adult chil- dren of Harold Meyerowitz, who reunite in New York as their father prepares for a career retrospective of his art at MOMA. Also star- ring Dustin Hoffman, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Emma Thompson, Grace Van Patten, Judd Hirsch and Sigourney Weaver. Geostorm Directed by Dean Devlin Rated: PG-13 October 20 After an unprecedented series of natural disasters threatened the planet, the world's leaders came together to create an intricate network of satellites to control the global cli- mate and keep everyone safe. But now, the system built to protect Earth is attacking it and it becomes a race against the clock to uncover the real threat before a worldwide geostorm wipes out everything and every- one. Gerard Butler plays the satellite designer who must fix the climate-control system and Continued on page 52